{"id":441884,"date":"2025-05-10T20:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=441884"},"modified":"2025-05-10T20:33:06","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T20:33:06","slug":"veteran-dances-her-way-to-creative-arts-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=441884","title":{"rendered":"Veteran dances her way to Creative Arts Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Army Veteran Dari Pfeiffer, dancing is freedom.\u00a0\u201cIt is joyful movement. I\u2019m able to try to paint a picture of how this makes me feel and maybe do a little storytelling along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pfeiffer is an aerial dance performer, or aerialist. Her art form merges elements from both the dance and circus worlds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were to sum it up, I would say Cirque du Soleil,\u201d Pfeiffer said of her creative specialty. \u201cThey have jugglers and all different types of artists, but when you see something suspended from the air, that\u2019s what that is. We create a dance in the air.\u201d<\/p>\n

A long path back to dance<\/h2>\n
\n
<\/a>
Dari Pfeiffer performing Aerial Dance. Photos submitted by Dari Pfeiffer for the article.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In college, Pfeiffer majored in English and pursued electives in acting, voice and dance. In 1994, her path took a dramatic turn when she joined the Army.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that time, I was able to find some improvisational dance classes, so I continued, and then I got promoted, had a family, and different demands didn\u2019t allow me to pursue it,\u201d she said. \u201cI just felt very disconnected from that art form.\u201d When she retired from the Army in 2015 as a chief warrant officer, Pfeiffer felt stressed and \u201cburned out, physically and emotionally.\u201d Then, while receiving care at the VA Detroit Healthcare System,<\/a> she heard about the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival<\/a> (NVCAF).<\/p>\n

Sharing her art<\/h2>\n

With the encouragement of Detroit VA creative arts therapist Shelley Knoodle, Pfeiffer gradually reconnected with the world of dance. She will share her art during this year\u2019s NVCAF, which takes place May 11-18 in Indianapolis, Indiana.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was an artist and dancer before joining, and so this is really kind of the first opportunity for me to bring something that I really love to do,\u201d she shared.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m excited to bring it to the community and share this expression with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NVCAF is open by invitation to Veterans who are receiving care through VA, enrolled at a VA facility and have placed first in their facility\u2019s local creative arts competition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAvenues are always open\u201d<\/h2>\n
\n
\"Woman<\/a>
Dari Pfeiffer performing Aerial Dance. Photos submitted by Dari Pfeiffer for the article.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cReally, in relation to dance and how that has helped me as a Veteran, I have had the support of VA, however aggressively I wanted to pursue that,\u201d said Pfeiffer. \u201cWhether I wanted to show up more, whether I wanted to be in therapy, or whether I wanted to connect, the avenues are always open.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, Pfeiffer sees dance as both liberating and essential to her well-being.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m where I feel really good and I feel really happy, and I wouldn\u2019t have used those words over the years,\u201d she added. \u201cI would have said \u2018Yeah, I\u2019m fine,\u2019 or \u2018Things are good,\u2019 but I don\u2019t think I would have felt I\u2019m actually happy\u2014and this is what helped me get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more about the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Flyer<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Army Veteran Dari Pfeiffer, dancing is freedom.\u00a0\u201cIt is joyful movement. I\u2019m able to try to paint a picture of how this makes me feel and maybe do a little storytelling along the way.\u201d Pfeiffer is an aerial dance performer, or aerialist. Her art form merges elements from both the dance and circus worlds. \u201cIf […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":441886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1540,5,1115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-441884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dance","category-health","category-national-veterans-creative-arts-festival"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=441884"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":441907,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441884\/revisions\/441907"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/441886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=441884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=441884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=441884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}